INDONESIA – Price rises are provoking revolt in yet another country. This time, it is Indonesia, the price hike concerns fuel, and the revolt takes the form of rallies and strike action. The unfolding events in Indonesia can be seen as just a new round in a series of workers’ struggles for better living standards, against a state and a capitalist class that tries to make profits by keeping wages as low as possible, by destroying the forest and undermining the livelihoods of the people.

The current conflict broke out after the government raised fuel prices. The cost of a liter of diesel shot up 22 percent and petrol by a dramatic 44 percent, as part of an attempt to contain the costs of subsidizing fuel, a cost that takes about 13 percent of the government’s budget. While fuel prices in Indonesia are very low, poor Indonesians are still burdened by them. It was no surprise, then, that the rise was met with immediate protest. CONTINUE READING